[Atlas Sneezed]

I studies Chinese in high school, and a it more in college. It was fun, interesting, and a good learning experience.

If you think simplicity is the hallmark of a good language, be aware that Chinese has only one-syllable words, each starting with one of 21 consonants, and ending with one of 16 vowel sounds. Not all permutations are used. Each word may have one of 5 intonations (rising, falling, etc.)

The language has no verb tenses, no conjugation, no gender, and sentences are made into questions simply by the addition of a syllable at the end.

Incredibly simple.

You might not be able to sound out a word from the written characters (which are the same as they were millennia ago), but the words are easy to learn, and there is no real challenge to write them (except for the beneficial rigor of learning to achieve over expectations.)

Besides, the more free people who speak Chinese, the better the chances for freedom in China.

[VadeRetro]

If you think simplicity is the hallmark of a good language, be aware that Chinese has only one-syllable words, each starting with one of 21 consonants, and ending with one of 16 vowel sounds. Not all permutations are used.

So there are only a few of these basic word-blocks and they get used over and over and over again. Simplicity is not an unmixed blessing. Ambiguities similar to puns abound.